Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: touch, feel, sense of touch, tactile sense, tactility, contact, using one's hands, sensation, sense, suspicion, sneaking suspicion, notion, inkling, hunch, fancy, apprehension, presentiment, premonition, foreboding, love, care, affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, warmness, emotion, sentiment, emotional state, compassion, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, understanding, concern, solicitude, solicitousness, tender-heartedness, brotherly love, sensibilities, sensitivities, self-esteem, ego, pride, opinion, belief, view, impression, intuition, instinct, estimation, guess, theory, hypothesis, thought, way of thinking, point of view, atmosphere, ambience, aura, air, mood, climate, character, overtone, undertone, tenor, spirit, quality, flavour, colour, aptitude, knack, flair, bent, talent, gift, skill, art, trick, faculty, ability, propensity, inclination, sensitive, warm, warm-hearted, tender, tender-hearted, caring, soft-hearted, sympathetic, compassionate, empathetic, responsive, receptive, intuitive, thoughtful

Antonyms: bad feeling, acrimony, animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, bitterness, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, enmity, friction, grievances, grudges, hatred, hostility, loathing, malevolence, malice

Showing 976 to 1000 of 1306 results

976. Drowsy Disciples

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... had been defiled, and that is the strong language the prophet uses to describe his people’s condition. Furthermore, the distinction between clean and unclean is a significant theme in the Old Testament Law. The people were to religiously avoid contact with unclean things, they were forbidden from eating unclean foods, and they were to be thorough and merciless in dealing with uncleanness, whether in skin, clothing, houses, or the community. “You are to distinguish,” God says, “between the holy and ...

977. Like a Butterfly

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... old Hope was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Hope came to the attention of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You know about that organization. It works to provide joy to children with terminal illnesses. What a wonderful ministry. The Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted 12-year-old Hope about fulfilling one of her wishes. In a moment of selflessness that is simply awe-inspiring, Hope Stout wished for just one thing: that every kid on the Make-A-Wish list would get their wish granted before she did. To me ...

978. Turn On the Light

John 8:12-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... my mom with prostitutes. I am too skinny and cannot for the life of me meet anyone who is attracted to me. I don’t know how much more I can take. I am in a dark place. Can you help me?” Here is another one. “I am in “no contact purgatory. My boyfriend of 1½ years broke up with me suddenly three weeks ago tonight. I have been through hell since then. His reason was he just needed space to grow and mature. He told me that I had been great and gave me the old “It’s me – not ...

979. The Good Life

John 10:11-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... sheep, there’s bad weather, there’s ticks, fleas, insects that want to sicken the sheep and weaken the sheep. The shepherd does not guard the sheep from difficulty, he guards the sheep in difficulty. The shepherd cannot prevent sheep from coming into contact with bears or wolves, but the shepherd can protect the sheep when they do. Why do you think Jesus calls himself “The Good Shepherd”? That word “Good” doesn't just mean “nice” or “effective”. It literally means “One of a kind, in a ...

980. The Messed Up

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... to the well, but Jesus didn’t move. It is obvious He is waiting to meet her. He then does the unspeakable by speaking to her. In that day, a man, particularly a stranger, not only would not talk to a woman, but he wouldn’t even make eye contact with her. Not only does Jesus break the sexual barrier He breaks the racial barrier. He ignores this 700-year hostility that had been going on between Jews and Samaritans and here is a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman. That is why John adds this detail in ...

981. The Desperate

John 9:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... . 2. Thinking It takes another 100 milliseconds for the batter to decide if it is a fastball, curveball, slider or changeup and if it is high, low, inside or outside. 3. Action It then takes another 150 milliseconds for the brain to signal to the body to make contact with the ball and to actually swing the bat across the plate. In the first 50 milliseconds he can stop his swing, but after that it is too late. Let me simplify what Dr. Adair said. It takes 4/10 of a second for a baseball traveling at 90mph ...

982. The Reject

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... , I realize that was God’s doing, but I crushed the heart of this girl. It put her into a tailspin and caused her to make some poor choices in her life. She dropped out of school and I went on to graduate. Almost 20 years went by with no contact, but the guilt of what I had done to her haunted me. I was invited to speak to a church down in Florida about two hours south of where she knew she might be living. I was sitting in my hotel room going over a message I was going to ...

983. No Excuse

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... radio signal. He has it checked and it is all right. He extends the deadline another hour – nothing – not one phone call. Now time is ticking. The concert is only a few hours away, so the DJ begins calling his friends. He has gone completely through his contact list. One by one he cannot believe what he is hearing. One buddy said he had to take his child to soccer practice. Another friend said he and his wife usually go grocery shopping that night and he can’t miss that opportunity. Another man said ...

984. Determining Your Destiny

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... cathedral or a log cabin, but you are going to die. Whether you are rich or poor, you had better look ahead, because today is followed by tomorrow. This life is followed by the life to come. Today’s decision determines tomorrow’s destiny. Like many of you I wear contacts. I do that because I’m nearsighted. As a matter of fact, without corrective lenses I am legally blind. I can see things that are very close to me. I can’t see things that are far away. One of my deacons is my eye doctor. I was in ...

985. Surviving the Big One

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... Jewish people. That doesn’t mean that you are rude to them or mean-spirited toward them or even refuse to speak to them. What it does mean is you cut off fellowship with them. You let them know there can be no more social or relational contact with them until the problem is resolved. The purpose of that is, hopefully, to drive that person to come to the point where they are finally willing to admit their wrongdoing and do their part to restore the relationship. Let me tell you something. Matthew 18 works ...

986. A Few Remaining Tremors

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... the light fixtures that he had promised us, but we were also left holding a check for a good sum of money that to this day has never been paid back. As you can guess, we haven’t heard another word from Ray and don’t even know how to contact him. It didn’t take me long to realize I had two options. I could live the rest of my life holding that debt over Ray and every time I thought about Ray I would think, “You are the guy that took my money” or I could choose to forgive ...

987. Is the Doctor in Today?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... had a child who is seriously ill will understand. You will go anywhere, spend any amount of money, energy or prestige to make certain your child is healed. Jairus’ confidence in Jesus is quite remarkable. As far as we know, they’ve had no other contact. How often do some of us lose confidence in Jesus when our back is against the wall? We forget our previous associations and encounters with him; of all he has done for us in the past. Scripture reminds us, however, that he can do exceedingly, abundantly ...

988. What Kind of King Is This?

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... came to see Jesus. He wore no crown. He came as an ordinary man. His parents were ordinary citizens. His hometown was so little respected that there was a common expression, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He confounded many who came into contact with him. He certainly confounded Pontius Pilate. Go with me back to those dark days just before Easter. Passion Week has begun. Jesus has predicted his death and now it is time for the fulfillment of his prediction. He has been captured and arrested ...

989. A Man Named Many

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... , talk, or interact with this demon possessed man. We can be grateful that where the law says people may not go, Jesus goes. What the law declares off limits, Jesus barges in anyway. When the law ignores the marginalized, Jesus makes it a point to make contact. One morning while Many was running through the rocks, he saw Jesus from afar. We don’t know why, but there was something in the appearance of Jesus that caught Many’s attention. He paused. He gazed. He approached. He fell at the feet of Jesus ...

990. Demons, Pigs, and the Economy

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... that, our inward self seems diminished. Consequently, as Dr. May observes, "when the inward life dries up, when feeling decreases and apathy increases, when one cannot affect or even genuinely touch another person, violence flares up as a daimonic necessity for contact, a mad drive forcing touch in the most direct way possible" (Love and Will, pp. 30-31). Like the demoniac thrust out of society into the caves and rocks, we seem thrust out of our self-hood in an impersonal, institutionalized, systematized ...

991. What Are You Seeking?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... of their day: skilled in philosophy, science, medicine, and astrology. Some say they were of the priestly order of Persia, advisors to the Persian rulers. How did they know that the child whom they sought would be the King of the Jews? It may be they had contact with the Jewish community in Persia, left there from days when Jews were captive in that land. A definitive answer is not given. But they were led by the star, first of all to Jerusalem, then to Bethlehem to the house where the young child lay ...

992. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... alive. “There was a provision,” writes Levison, “called a dismission. A dishonorable son could be paid a portion of his future inheritance, but then [he would be] permanently cut off from the family. The child would be treated as if he were dead. No contact with the family would ever be allowed again . . .” (2) Requesting his share of his father’s estate was a radical act by the younger boy. But the father’s act was even more radical. Jesus says simply, “So [the father] divided his property ...

993. Sunday's Here

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... strikes you most forcibly--that the only thing that’s taught one anything is suffering. Not success, not happiness, not anything like that. The only thing that really teaches one what life’s about--the joy of understanding, the joy of coming in contact with what life really signifies--is suffering, affliction.” He’s talking about life’s Fridays. He’s talking about every dark night of the soul. The Bible is very forthright in acknowledging life’s Fridays. But the Bible is equally clear that ...

994. Make Me A Crossroads

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Jim Elliot, a dedicated missionary in Ecuador who was killed by the Auca Indians in 1956, said it well: “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” (Cited by Elisabeth Elliot, The Shadow of the Almighty [New York: Harper & Row, 1979], p. 59.)

995. God's Knowability

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Trying to explain God is like trying to explain a kiss. You can check the dictionary definition: “A caress with the lips; a gentle touch or contact.” But does that really capture the essence of what a kiss is? Does that describe what a mother does when she tenderly places her lips on the forehead of her newborn child? Is that what the young lover does when he says good-night to his girl? Just as words ...

996. Jonah Proof

Jonah 1:17

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... by a great darkness and he felt he was slipping along a smooth passage of some sort that seemed to move and carry him forward. The sensation lasted but a short time and then he realized he had more room. He felt about him and his hands came in contact with a yielding, slimy substance that seemed to shrink from his touch. It finally dawned upon him that he had been swallowed by the whale.… He could easily breathe, but the heat was terrible. It was not a scorching, stifling nature, but it seemed to open the ...

997. The Discipline of Pain

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... channels of his mercy to others and so bear fruit for his kingdom. But these disciplines must be seized upon and used, not thwarted. They must not be seen as excuses for living in the shadow of half-lives, but as messengers, however painful, to bring our souls into vital contact with the living God, that our lives may be filled to overflowing with himself in ways that may, perhaps, be impossible to those who know less of life’s darkness.”

998. Preparations for Building the Temple

2 Chronicles 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... Whereas the Deuteronomistic version starts with Hiram sending a messenger to Solomon after he heard that David’s son had become king, the Chronicler suggests the initiative came from Solomon by omitting 1 Kings 5:1. Solomon is the one taking the initiative in contacting his northern neighbor to support his temple-building project. In this way the focus remains on Solomon as the temple builder. At the beginning of Solomon’s address to Hiram, 1 Kings 5:3–5 includes an explanation of why David could not ...

999. Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... to those present, as distinct from verse 11. The setting may have been a church “service.” 5:6 No sooner had Ananias died than the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. Whether any attempt was made to contact Sapphira we are not told. Their home may have been in the country and impossible to reach quickly. Even so, it seems somewhat precipitate to have buried the husband without telling the wife. It was customary to bury the dead quickly—but not that quickly ...

1000. Stephen Seized

Acts 6:8-15

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... have belonged by birth and education (see disc. on 7:9ff.). The literary remains of the Alexandrian Jews testify to intellectual energy, missionary concern, and a profound seriousness about the Scriptures. These traits are evident in both Stephen and Apollos. Points of contact can also be established between Stephen and Philo (see, e.g., disc. on 7:22; see further L. W. Barnard “St. Stephen and Early Alexandria Christianity,” NTS 7 [1960–61], pp. 31–45, esp. pp. 44f.). Cilicia: The area to which the ...

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